Tithing is Not Charity: Nehemiah Shows the Real Purpose of Support
- Thad DeBuhr
- Nov 9
- 7 min read
NEHEMIAH 30 Day Challenge: DAY 26
Have you ever tried to run a marathon on a diet of chips and soda? You might start strong, but soon enough, your energy crashes, your muscles fail, and your system gives out. We feel this crash not just physically, but spiritually. We try to serve, to grow, and to maintain a vibrant faith, but often, the vital support systems—the fuel for our spirit and the boundaries for our hearts—are neglected. We wonder why our church leaders seem burned out, why our own dedication wavers, or why it’s so easy to be pulled into cultural compromise.
The question is: When the celebration and momentum fade, what practical, foundational steps are non-negotiable for keeping your spiritual life—and the life of your faith community—from collapsing?
Before you dig into the story, I would encourage you to read through the passage in two different bible translations from this list: NIV, NLT, NASB, ESV, NKJV
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Setting the Scene: Storehouses and Separation
Our study today takes us to Nehemiah chapter 12, verses 44 through Nehemiah chapter 13, verse 3. This section immediately follows the joyful dedication of Jerusalem's rebuilt walls. The city is secure, but Nehemiah, the appointed governor, shifts his focus to securing the city’s spiritual sustainability.
💰 The Lifeline of the Storehouse
The text emphasizes the crucial role of the storehouses (the Temple treasury). To understand this, we need to grasp a key Jewish detail:
No Inheritance for the Levites: When the tribes of Israel received their land, the Priests (descendants of Aaron) and the Levites (the tribe of Levi)—who served as spiritual leaders, teachers, musicians, and Temple workers—were deliberately not allotted tribal land for inheritance.
A Covenant of Support: God declared that the Lord Himself was their inheritance. Consequently, their entire support came from the tithes and offerings of the other tribes. This included grain, new wine, oil, and money—the "dues" mentioned in Nehemiah chapter 12, verse 44.
The Two-Way Faithfulness: This created a two-way covenant of faithfulness. The people were to faithfully give their required portions, and in return, the Priests and Levites could focus entirely on ministry, teaching the Law, and maintaining Temple worship without distraction from secular work like farming or trading.
The Spiritual Crash: When the people became careless and stopped giving the dues, the Levites had to leave the Temple and return to their fields to find food (Nehemiah chapter 13, verse 10). When the spiritual leaders and teachers are forced to leave their posts, the spiritual life of the entire community languishes. Therefore, financial integrity in supporting ministry was not a secondary matter; it was the non-negotiable lifeline for the sustained spiritual health of the entire community.
🚫 The Necessity of Separation
The final verses (from Nehemiah chapter 13, verses 1 through 3) abruptly shift to the necessity of separation.
The Compromise: While Nehemiah was absent, the people had allowed outsiders—specifically Moabites and Ammonites—to mix into their main assembly, forgetting the clear, historical divine command that prohibited this mixture (Deuteronomy chapter 23, verses 3 through 5).
Purity Over Prejudice: This separation was not based on prejudice or racism. It was about protecting the purity of their worship and covenant fidelity. The Moabites and Ammonites represented deep-seated idolatrous and compromising influences that history had shown would corrupt Israel's unique relationship with God.
The Demand: The people at the time understood that God demands a people set apart—a holy people whose spiritual life is protected by clear, uncompromising boundaries against influences that threaten to pull them away from their full devotion to God.
🚀 Applying it Today: Securing Your Spiritual Foundation
The lesson from Nehemiah is clear: sustained spiritual health requires practical integrity (supporting ministry) and covenant boundaries (separation from harmful influences).
I. Secure the Foundation of Support (Financial Integrity)
The goal here is simple: ensure the necessary fuel is present for sustained ministry and effective spiritual leadership in your life and community.
Commit to Giving (Supporting Those Who Teach You)
This means recognizing that those dedicated to teaching the Word and leading worship need consistent provision to serve without distraction.
🛑 Doing It WRONG (Compromise): You only give when there's leftover money, treating support for spiritual work like an optional charity rather than a priority commitment. For example, you wait until the end of the month to see if you have anything left over, or you support ministry only when it’s convenient. This ignores the lesson that the sustenance of ministry is a non-negotiable lifeline.
✅ Doing It RIGHT (Integrity): You commit to regular, proportionate, and priority giving (tithing) as the Bible teaches. You treat this commitment as a first-fruits act of faithfulness, not an afterthought. For instance, you set up automatic giving at the start of the pay cycle, ensuring that the support for ministry is prioritized alongside other core bills.
Commit to Encouragement (Supporting the Person, Not Just the Ministry)
Support isn't just financial; it's recognizing the humanity and sacrifice of your spiritual leaders.
🛑 Doing It WRONG (Compromise): You assume spiritual leaders don't need appreciation, or you believe they are "super-spiritual" and exempt from fatigue, burnout, or discouragement. You focus only on what you receive from them (sermons, teaching) and neglect to pour back into them.
✅ Doing It RIGHT (Integrity): You intentionally commit to praying for your spiritual leaders and sending notes of specific appreciation and thanks. For example, you send a personal text or email specifically thanking a teacher for a recent lesson that impacted your personal journey, recognizing the effort and vulnerability required to share the Word.
II. Secure the Foundation of Boundaries (Separation)
The goal here is to establish clear lines to protect your heart and devotion from corruption, just as Nehemiah protected the Temple from compromising influences.
Identify Compromise (Identifying Your "Ammonites/Moabites")
You must honestly evaluate what influences are creeping in and threatening your relationship with God.
🛑 Doing It WRONG (Compromise): You make excuses for influences you know are damaging your soul—whether it’s toxic relationships, certain entertainment, or destructive habits. For instance, you keep watching media you know is overly violent or immoral, rationalizing that "it's just a show" and won't affect your heart.
✅ Doing It RIGHT (Boundary): You honestly name and confess the specific influences or relationships that pollute your mind or pull you away from God. For example, you pray, "God, I recognize that this specific social media feed or this X habit is polluting my mind and taking my focus off you."
Establish Separation (Creating a Physical or Digital Boundary)
This requires radical, uncompromising action to remove or limit the harmful influence.
🛑 Doing It WRONG (Compromise): You keep the corrupting influence close while hoping you'll be strong enough to resist its constant pull. For example, you keep a spiritually harmful app on your phone but promise yourself that you won't open it after 9 PM.
✅ Doing It RIGHT (Boundary): You take radical, physical action to eliminate or strictly limit the compromising influence. For instance, you delete the app entirely, block the contact, unsubscribe from the distracting platform, or set strict parental controls on your devices to enforce your boundaries.
Your spiritual journey doesn't have to crash and burn. It can be sustained and pure when you commit to securing these two practical, non-negotiable foundations.
Questions to Chew on and Discuss:
Read Nehemiah chapter 12, verses 44 through 47 (NLT). The people were commanded to give the "dues" for the Levites so they could focus on ministry. In your life, what are the "dues" (resources, time, attention) you are struggling to give that might be distracting you or others from focusing on God's work?
Read Nehemiah chapter 13, verses 1 through 3 (NLT). The people had to separate themselves from specific "mixed multitude" influences. What are the current cultural or personal influences that you recognize are clearly compromising your faith or pulling your focus away from a pure relationship with God?
Journey Group Discussion Starter:
Think about a time when you saw someone fully supported in their calling (a mentor, a minister, a teacher). What difference did that full support make in their effectiveness and your own spiritual life?
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Question 1. Time. I have a side business that takes most of my time away from other things, like studying, reading the Word, or even involvement in study groups.
Question 2. I work as a tech for a trucking company, so I work with a bunch of worldly guys. I try to stay by myself but sometimes that doesn’t work.
Side note. My side business is slowing down so I’m going to try develop a habit of spending time in the word.